Suspicion & Faith #2: Freud

It is tempting, even understandable, for a Christian to dismiss Sigmund Freud outright, before even giving him an opportunity to speak. However, his thoughts on religion, even if rooted in a disdain for Christianity, may have some prophetic word to challenge the believer. According to Westphal, Freud’s critique of the Christian faith might be summarized in one thought: wish-fulfillment. The God we worship tends to be the very God we would want to have. We are his favorite children. He punishes our enemies for their sins while tending toward mercy when addressing our errors. He rewards us for the sacrifices we make in life. He protects us from the terror of death. “The believing soul fashions a God who is only seemingly stern and who plays favorites with me and my people...a doting, spoiling grandfather...a thoroughly domesticated parent” (Westphal, 63).

At the corporate level (religious denomination, national policy, cultural worldview), we tend to:

• demonize the enemy...Our enemy becomes the enemy of God and therefore our violence (verbal and physical) toward them is justified, even morally good.
• elevate ourselves...We see ourselves as “God’s specially chosen instrument” for justice or righteousness or civilization in the world.
• project our desires...We put our desires for power and control into the mind and mouth of God, “thereby transforming action...from atrocity to duty” (75).

It is common for us to “domesticate the divine power to co-opt and control it for one’s own purpose” (108). While claiming that we are defending God’s honor and dignity by “insisting that God be worshipped precisely through the rites that we practice, and that these be interpreted only as we interpret them”, we actually “annihilate God’s freedom” and make him “our personal property” (108-109). Though we may dismiss Freud on numerous levels, are we so certain of our purity that we can ignore the accusation (no matter the source) that we have formed a god after our own heart?

This is the second of 4 posts on Merold Westphal's Suspicion & Faith.